Doubting Thomas, or Caring Christ?

“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”     John 20:28-29

As I was reading the passage about “Doubting Thomas”, I began to realize that this passage was not only a picture of one who doubts, but also an amazing picture of One who loves and cares for us personally.

To me, Thomas doesn’t really seem like a doubter, but one who wants to know and be sure of things. Because of this trait, he often doesn’t see the obvious, but wants to be told plainly or shown. That was the way he learned.

“Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?”   John 14:5

I saw this in Thomas, because I learn the same way. Too many times I am looking for a direct answer or instruction, and fail to see the obvious answer in front of me!

Jesus knew this about Thomas, and he also knew that Thomas would not be there when He appeared to the disciples the first time. So why did He not wait until all the disciples were there?

I believe it was to show just how far Jesus will go to show that He cares for us individually. He knows each and every one of us, and He knows exactly what we need in order to believe, trust Him, or just step out in faith. His coming back specifically to show Thomas that He had indeed risen, showed just how much He loved Thomas, and wanted Him to be able to go forward without any doubts or reservations.

Jesus may not always give us all the answers, but He will ALWAYS provide everything we need to walk with Him. What an amazing love and care He has for every individual one of us!

How Our Relationship with God Affects Our Sibling Relationships - Part 1

I wrote this series a couple years ago, and just recently revisited and revised it.

Sibling relationships can be one of the most difficult things for us to be Christ-like in while living our everyday lives. After all, even in the Proverbs it says, "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." (17:17) :-) It is so much easier to be pleasant and God-honoring when we are with friends than when we are with our siblings day in and day out. Of course, I may be miss-using this passage just a bit, but it seems to be used in this way quite often.

I find that if we really look, we can find a multitude of articles and books that address the issue of proper relationships between siblings, and some of them have a lot of practical and helpful information. But when we really dig down to the heart of the issue, we find that most of the time it is missed altogether in these how-to writings.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

How often do we need to be reminded that if we work on having our relationship with God where it needs to be, He will work through us and help us in every area of our lives?

The number one focus for each and every one of us as believers is to tune our hearts and lives to the One who gave us life. Our Creator is more than worthy to be first in every aspect of our lives, and this includes relationships.

A very important factor in our relationship with God is to establish exactly what we believe about Him, or how much we believe in Him. If asked, I'm sure we would hasten to assure the questioner that we believe in God with all our hearts! This may be so in our hearts and minds, when we are alone, and in the quiet of our devotions, but what about in our everyday lives?

For many, believing in God is deciding that they are going to believe in this invisible Creator, whether or not they feel He is real. This is what most people call faith. But if we are truly striving for a live of intimacy with Christ, this will not be enough. We not only have to choose to believe, but act on it.

"Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?" (Psalm 113:5-6)

One of the most important aspects we must realize in our relationship with God is that He is an actual, real being. He is not somewhere in heaven or the sky looking down at us every once in a while to see if we are following Him, but He is RIGHT HERE. He stays close beside us every moment of every day, taking deep interest in our interests, sorrows with us in our sorrows, smiles with love and pleasure when we serve others, and many times stands by in sad disappointment when we chose to disobey Him.

Once we realize this, we will find that this knowledge affects every action and decision we make. A heart in close unity with God will spread His love to our response and reactions to those around us.

Just as God's love no depth knows,

His love our hearts will overflow.

Whence can it flow? Out of our lives.

With those around we'll harmonize.

"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." (Matthew 6:22)

As this verse plainly states, if we keep the eyes of our hearts focused singly on Christ, our whole life will reflect the light of His presence. How awesome!

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Posts from the Past

Every Wednesday I post something that I have written in the past. It may have been written a long time ago, or a very, very long time ago! :-D So please forgive any mistakes!

"Thy Waves and Thy Billows"

After having worked on a couple pictures out of my comfort zone, I felt a little more "comfortable" trying another. 

I have always been fascinated by skies and water, and there is nothing that I have wanted to be able to paint more than those. I guess because I wanted to be able to paint them so much, I never have! I guess it was fear, fear that I would fail miserably and not be able to paint the two things I loved to look at the most! Well, I was very grateful that God gave me boldness to finally bite down and try a water scene.

Granted, there is a lot wrong with this picture, but overall I was pleased with the outcome of my first water painting. I guess it helped me to realize, "yes, my skills need work, but it IS possible, and Lord willing, I WILL be able to do beautiful water paintings one day!"

"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." (Psalm 42:7-8)

When I saw this painting develop under my hand, I couldn't help but think about how hard it seemed to me to begin with, and how it got a little easier as I saw more and more how it would turn out.

How much like that my life was. There are times when I feel so overwhelmed, I think that I'm drowning in the sea of trials, discouragements, and unknown futures God lays before me. YET. What a wonderful word! Yet-God is still who He was yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before. His love, peace, and joy are continually with me, if I will only look up and remember them.

There have been several times lately where I am amazed (though I shouldn't be) at how when I am felling overwhelmed, I just make up my mind to stop looking at the storm and focus on God instead, He takes me up and gives me a "song in the night".

No matter how great the storm, God is always with me, and always in control. As soon as I look to Him, His lovingkindness will prevail in my life.

How I thank God for the song He gives through the "waves and billows" of my life!

A Blog Schedule, Yay!

As I've prayed about putting more into my blog, it is amazing how God has provided me with many ideas and opportunities to improve it.

A couple announcements I would like to make is:

1. Every Monday I will be publishing an "Art and Inspirations" post. These will be pastel paintings that I have done and the inspirations and lessons for them that God has given me.

2. Every Wednesday I will be publishing a "Perceptions from the Past" post. These are old articles, stories, and poetry that I have written in past years that I would like too share.

It is also possible that I may stick some other kind of post on here at any old time!

Thank you so much for your encouragement!

When Christian Life is About the Valleys

I originally wrote this for a dear friend of mine, but after having a similar conversation with several people, I realized this was something that I should share openly with others.

I have had major struggles on and off for several years with being either hot or cold for Christ. When things got hard, it felt like God had forsaken me, and when things were easy, I felt like I was living life as I was meant to: being happy, content and on fire for the Lord. Through several years of God instructing me and leading me, I now know that living a life for Christ is not about what is on the mountain tops, but about what is done the deepest and darkest valleys. Before you say that I'm all backwards from normal mountain/valley examples of Christian living, please hear me through.

We are living in the deep dark valley of sin and this world, the mountain tops are only for a few moments of rest and rejuvenation. If you will, think about the size of a valley compared to the size of the top of a mountain. Depending on the valley and mountain, you may be living as much as twenty years in a valley with only three days on a mountain top! Christian life is lived mostly in the valleys. This is where our strongest stands, our biggest spiritual growths, and our boldest testimonies are made. We just may not see it until we are having our few moments on a mountain top. The key is to keep walking. We won't get any closer to our mountain top if we are sitting or lying down being miserable or pitying ourselves in the valley. The valley must be traveled through to get to the mountain, and it is our choice as to how long we 

stay in the valley.

I found that I thought the mountain tops were the essence of Christian living, and if I was going through a valley, I was out of God's will. As I stated above, the Lord brought me to the realization that this is not true. The Lord began to teach me how to walk. If I was to get through the valley, I had to walk through it. True, some valleys are darker than others, and some may have mire pulling and sucking at my feet making it more difficult to walk, but I have to walk to get through.

To walk properly, I need shoes on. One shoe is called prayer, the other is called God's word. I shouldn't have one without the other, and neither works very well by itself. Just as I put on my shoes before I go for a walk, I need to spend time in God's word and prayer before I start the day. If I find that I don't have time enough before I have to get started with breakfast or chores, I need to get up earlier. But if the day is going to start out well, I must start by putting on my shoes.

Next is to take a step. A step is an action. I can't take a step without doing something or moving something. If I want to get through my valley as fast as possible, I must take as many steps in a day as I can. Some, such as doing chores, a job, school or any other task, are relatively easy. I know how to take those steps with no problem. But just as there are different ways of walking, there are different ways I can do my duties.

If I were to take short, shuffling steps, I would be puttering about doing my duties and dawdling while working. If I were to take careless steps, not looking where I was going, I would be doing my duties in a careless manner, not doing them to the best of my abilities. The negative with careless walking is that I may step in a hole and it may take me a while to get out. I may one day have to stop and have a lot more work to do because I did not do my duties properly. The best way to walk is with strong, attentive steps. Doing each duty that comes up to the best of my abilities and "as unto the Lord". Then I can walk on, no stopping, no looking back.

If, when I walked, I constantly looked at myself, and was concerned and worried about how I was stepping and what I looked like as I was walking, I would trip up and slow down. Any runner running a race looking at his feet is bound to have a fall! I found that the more I looked at myself and my progress, or lack thereof, the more I would trip up. That's when the Lord taught me how to take another kind of step.

Thinking of and working for others is a very important step, especially if I'm around my family a lot. There are endless steps I can take, such as helping someone with their duties, doing things that I know my parents want done, and helping the house and yard to run as smoothly as possible. There is no thinking that something is not my responsibility, I want to take as many steps in a day as I can! Jesus thought of others more than Himself, and the best steps I can take are those that follow His footsteps.

Another step is a step of encouragement. These are, I think the biggest steps I can take, and that is when I go out of my way to encourage or uplift someone else, especially those in my family. If my sister is out of town where she can check her e-mail, I could daily send her an encouraging verse and short note of love and encouragement; when my brother was going to college, I would tape the same type of note on the steering wheel in his car every day. If Dad or the boys are out working all day (especially tiring, outdoor work), I can do all I can to make them feel at rested, loved, and encouraged when they come home. It amazes me how much what I do can affect those around me. If I get up early and have all the living area spotless by the time everyone wakes up, everyone is in a much better mood. If the house is clean, and I'm at the door when my dad comes home, with a smile and a joke for him, the whole evening runs smoother. In general, when others know that I am willing to go out of my way to make life as easy for them as possible, all of life seems to flow smoother and have a brighter atmosphere.

Of course, there are those times when the valley starts to become darker, or there is a swampy section of mire we have to plug through. But the key is to keep walking. Sadly, I almost always seemed to sit and stew in self-misery and pity or anger for a while before I even thought about taking the next step. Sometimes I kept walking, and believe me, it gets HARD. But after a faithful walking through the hardest valleys come the highest and brightest mountains. It is from the mountain tops that I can look ahead and see more of God's glory, look behind, and see the beauty of what He's brought me through, and can bask for a brief moment in the warmth of His comforting rays of rest and rejuvenation.

The biggest comfort of it all is that God is right there, walking next to me. He is ready and willing to walk hand in hand with me, sorrowing with me in my sorrows, taking joy in my joys. Of course, it is very easy to remove my hand from His, and I can even walk on my own for a while, but it won't be long before I get caught in a place where I have to reach for His hand to help me out of a hard spot. And you know, He's always there, waiting with an outstretched hand.

I know the way, but it is always up to me how I walk in it, or if I walk in it.

I hope and pray that you will walk through your valleys faithfully. God has a plan for you, my friend, and it is for you to find it and walk through.

"I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name."
(Revelation 3:8)

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Posts from the Past

Every Wednesday I post something that I have written in the past. It may have been written a long time ago, or a very, very long time ago! :-D So please forgive any mistakes!

"New Life"

I'm finding it amazing how God can give us lessons in almost EVERY area of our lives! Painting in pastels may seem like a personal hobby, but God has shown me that it can be so much more! Not only do I learn something physical in every painting, such as better technique and methods, but God is also teaching me something spiritual in every painting.

When I selected the picture for this picture, I selected it as the "most unlikely". The one that, since I probably would be most unlikely to paint it, I chose it! Confusing I know, but it sounded good at the time! :-D

As I worked it, I had some mess-ups and several frustrations, but when it was finished, I stood back and looked at it. The painting "New Life" was complete.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:11)

I don't know if you can see it, but among the dead leaves and buds, there is a single, new green leaf. Looking at this picture reminded me that when I accepted Christ as my Savior, he gave me new life. To begin with, there was a lot of the old life there, still visible to all who looked.

But as I grew in Christ, bit by bit I became dead to the old life of sin, and it became less and less visible as the growth of new life I received of Christ grew larger and began to gradually cover my past with all its sins and failings.

As I thought about this, I was also reminded of another passage 

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” 

(1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

The new growth, the new life I have in Christ is HIS righteousness, wisdom, sanctification, and redemption. The life that I now live is not mine, but Christ's. So that now when people look at me, they see mostly the new life I now have in Christ.

Praise God for the amazing ways He works in our lives, and for the new life He freely provides for each and every one of us!

Fun With the Girls!!!

One of the ways God has been working in my heart this past year is to help me really appreciate and enjoy the company of my younger siblings. As bad as it may sound, I never really realized just how sweet my little sisters were! I have really come to enjoy my time with them!

So the other night our parents decided to go out for dinner. As Mom was walking out the door she said that if one of the sisters would make it, they could have pizza for supper. Well, all the other older girls said "no" because they had other things to do. I mentally thought that it didn't apply to me, because I couldn't eat the stuff anyway. But, the begging eyes of little sisters prevailed, and I announced that Ashlyn and I would make dinner. Of course, Naomi came in and decided to help, so I HAD to get pictures.

Oops! The mixer is broken! I guess we'll have to do it the old fashioned way!

This fascinated my little sisters, but I did have to show them the art of kneading.

(Wow, that made me feel old!) :-D

Ashlyn really surprised me at how hard she worked at it!

Naomi watched for a while, then hopped right in and took over!

Of course, what adventure is complete without a silly picture?

"Webecca? Can we put lots of pepperwoni on it?"

I guess so!

I told the girls they could each eat ONE piece of pepperoni. 

Well, it didn't get totally eaten without being played with a little first. :-D

We did not get pictures of the "finished" product, but judging by the way the family wolfed it down, I'd say the pizzas were a success. I had fun anyway!